


I Need You

by malecnificenttyrus11



Category: Never Have I Ever (TV)
Genre: Angst w/happy ending, Ben Gross - Freeform, Bevi, Canon Compliant, Devi Vishwakumar - Freeform, Emotional!Devi, Established Relationship, I Love You, Supportive!Ben, They're just very in love, death anniversary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24644593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecnificenttyrus11/pseuds/malecnificenttyrus11
Summary: When Ben gets a knock on his front door at 1AM, he isn't expecting his girlfriend to be standing on the other side. He isn't sure what's wrong, but he could tell that Devi was upset. What happens when a misunderstanding takes place between them? Will Ben be able to get Devi to open up to him? And will he be able to help Devi through one of the hardest days that she has to face?
Relationships: Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar
Comments: 6
Kudos: 88





	I Need You

When Ben is woken up from his sleep by a knock on the front door, he finds himself confused...and not just because he's still half asleep. He rolls over to look at the clock on his bedside table.

1AM.

Who the hell would be knocking on his door at 1AM? 

Ben rubs the sleep from his eyes, throwing back his covers and standing up from the bed.

He sleepily stumbles out of his room, down the hallway and down the stairs. As he approaches the door, another soft knock echoes through the house.

Ben groans, "I'm coming!" he yells out as he reaches the door.

He unlocks the door, pulling it open.

He blinks the remainder of sleep from his eyes, eyes widening when he instantly recognizes the figure standing in front of him.

"Devi?" He breathes out, giving his girlfriend a concerned look.

"What are you doing here this late? Is everything ok-" He starts to ask, but he is cut off by Devi's lips crashing onto his.

He stumbles back slightly, letting out a yelp of surprise. 

Was this a fever dream or something? What was going on?

Devi pushes him back until their both inside the house, lips moving desperately together. Devi blindly pushes the door shut, and Ben takes this opportunity to slam her back against the door.

If this really was a fever dream, he figured he might as well make it count.

They continue to kiss, and Ben feels Devi's hand rest against his heart...which is beating rapidly inside his chest.

Her hand slowly slides down to the waistband of his pajama pants, and he immediately grabs her hands in his.

He pulls away from the kiss, eyes wide, "Devi...woah, slow down."

He takes a second to catch his breath, "What are you doing?" he asks, voice not uncomfortable...just confused.

He and Devi had been together for four months now...Ben had asked her out following their kiss in Miami. Their relationship had gotten serious fairly quickly, since they had known eachother for so long, that it wasn't completely unfamiliar territory.

The one thing that hadn't happened yet, however, was having sex...which was a mutual decision between both Devi and Ben.

They both agreed that Devi still had a lot of emotional trauma to sort through, and that they would wait until they were both ready emotionally.

So...to say Ben was confused by Devi's sudden appearance at his door and her clear attempt to take things to the next level was a vast understatement.

Devi is silent, eyes locked on Ben's, "Ben...I need you." she breathes out.

Ben is stunned into silence, not sure how to respond to that.

"Please, Ben...I need you." She pleads, leaning forward to capture his lips again...this time less desperately. She pulls him forward until their bodies are flush together.

Ben breaks the kiss, "Devi...stop. I can't." he says firmly, putting some distance between them.

Devi's face morphs into what Ben has learned to call the "kicked puppy" look. Her face falls, and he is pretty sure he sees tears well up in her eyes...her bottom lip very clearly trembling.

"You...aren't attracted to me..." She whispers, eyes falling towards the ground. She folds her arms over her chest.

Ben's eyes widen, "What?! Devi...no! That's not what I meant!"

Devi looks up to meet Ben's eyes again, and he feels his heart shatter. She looks so hurt, so...broken. And he is almost certain that the reason why isn't because he just rejected her.

Before he has the opportunity to ask what's going on, Devi's speaks up again, "I'm still just some unfuckable nerd to you, huh? You're still repulsed by me."

Ben frowns...his heart sinking, "Devi...that is not true, and you know it. It's never been true."

Devi sniffles, "If it isn't true then why did you just push me away?!" her voice breaks.

Ben cautiously walks forward until he's standing directly in front of Devi, "Hey, Devi...look at me." He pleads, reaching out to grab her hands.

Slowly, Devi's eyes move from the floor to meet Ben's. He frowns when he sees that her eyes are bloodshot, tear stains on her cheeks.

"Devi...I can't believe that you don't see how attracted I am to you. I mean...of course I want us to, you know..." He says, voice drifting off as he waves his hand around.

"Have sex?" Devi guesses, the smallest smile noticeable on her face at Ben's suddenly awkwardness.

Ben nods quickly, "Yeah...that." He rambles out.

"But...not right now...not like this. Not when something is clearly upsetting you." Ben explains, resting a hand on her cheek.

Devi sniffles, leaning into the touch.

"Devi, please talk to me. What's wrong?" Ben whispers, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

He waits patiently for Devi to talk to him...not wanting to push her to the point where she'll shut herself down again.

"It's...uh...It's the one year anniversary of my dad's passing today." Devi chokes out, lip starting to tremble again.

Ben feels a pit form in his stomach, and his eyes start burning, "Devi..." he breathes out, immediately pulling her into his arms.

Devi sobs into Ben's shoulder, clinging onto his shirt desperately...needing something to ground her.

She was scared that if she let go...if she let Ben out of her sight, he would disappear.

"Shh...it's okay. I've got you." Ben whispers, rubbing his fingers up and down Devi's back comfortingly.

A few minutes later Devi's sobs turn into small hiccups. Ben pulls back to look at her, the pad of his thumb moving up to wipe the remainder of her tears away.

He offers her a small smile, "Did you know that you're still incredibly beautiful, even when you cry?" 

Devi laughs wetly, rolling her eyes, "Shut up...you're such a dork."

Ben shrugs, "That may be true, but I'm right. You do not want to see me cry...all of these good looks go right out the window when that happens."

"Which good looks exactly?" Devi teases.

Ben gasps in mock offense, putting a hand to his heart, "Devi...how you hurt me. Have you forgotten so soon that you're the one who just broke into my house and jumped me?" he smirks.

Devi frowns, "Valid point. I'm sorry about that..."

Ben shakes his head, reaching out to interlock his fingers with hers, "Don't apologize. C'mon...let's go sit on the couch and talk."

She lets him lead her to the couch, him sitting down and pulling her into his lap. Devi lays her head on his chest.

Confortable silence falls between them, Ben softly stroking Devi's arm.

"What's going on in that mind of yours...David?" He asks softly.

Devi smiles at the use of her nickname. 

She sighs, "Well...I'm currently beating myself up over the fact that I ambushed my boyfriend at 1AM, pleading for him to have sex with me. God...I'm so embarrassed."

Her head falls into her hands, and Ben shakes his head.

"Hey...don't beat yourself up over it. It's okay." Ben reassures her, pulling her hands from her face.

"But...I would like to ask why exactly you did that..."He adds.

Devi is silent for a moment, eyes distant, "It's kind of embarrassing but...I have been sort of having these recurring nightmares for the last few months of my dad. Not really nightmares but...just constant dreams of the night he died..." she explains.

Ben frowns...Devi had never told him this. He knew that Devi had been taking her father's death incredibly hard, but he didn't realize it had been tormenting her this much.

"It's the same thing over and over. My mom's helpless screams. The sound of the ambulance sirens...them rolling my dad's lifeless body into the ambulance. The bright lights disappearing, and...he's gone." Devi continues, voice breaking.

Ben pulls her closer, resting a hand on her leg.

"This time, though...my nightmare was about you. And god...it scared me so bad, Ben. I woke up panicked...desperate to know you were alive and breathing. I needed to feel your heartbeat." She chokes out, letting out another sob.

Ben shifts so that Devi is straddling his lap, and he pulls her down into an embrace, "Hey...it's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere..." he whispers in her ear.

Devi pulls away to look at him, "You don't know that. You don't know what could happen. If I lost you..." she chokes out.

Ben immediately grabs Devi's hand, resting it right over his heart...covering her hand with his own.

"Devi, do you feel that?" she nods, "My heart beats for you. It beats because of you. You don't even know how many times you've saved me."

Ben sighs, "You're right, I don't know what could happen. But what I do know is...you can't let yourself be consumed by the fear of the unknown. You'll drive yourself insane..." 

Devi sniffles, rubbing at her eyes, "I know..."

He offers her a sad smile, "Just know this...I will never, ever leave you. Not as long as I have a choice in it. And even then...I'll always be right here..." he breathes out, pointing towards her heart.

Devi smiles, leaning forward to kiss Ben. Ben's hands rest on either side of her face, their lips moving together slowly.

Ben is alive. He's alive...he's breathing. He's here with you right now. He's okay...

She keeps repeating these words in her mind until they stick...focusing on the rhythm of Ben's heartbeat.

She pulls away, wrapping her arms around him again, "Thank you...Ben. I love you."

Ben's eyes widen, and he pulls away to look at her, "Did you just say..."

Devi smiles, "That I love you? Yes. Because I do."

Ben blinks, eyes filling with tears, "I love you, too."

Devi laughs softly, "You're right...you are an ugly crier." she teases.

Ben gasps, "Wow...is that how you talk to someone that you love?"

Devi nods, "Yeah. It's how I talked to you for the longest time...isn't it?"

He smiles fondly, "Fair point. Okay...so why don't you stay here until the morning, and then we could take a drive up to Malibu beach to visit your dad." he suggests.

"You...You'd do that?" Devi breathes out, eyes wide.

Ben nods, "Of course I would. I want your dad to meet me for the first time as your boyfriend."

Devi grins, "You know...I think he would like that. He's always liked you...from when we were younger."

"He...did?" Ben asks in a shocked voice.

"Yeah...he loved the competition between us. He loved how you pushed me to be my best, and he always said that it was important to have someone like that in your life..." She explains, smiling fondly at the endless memories of her father talking about Ben.

Ben sniffles, "That really means the world to me." 

Devi reaches forward to wipe a tear from his eye, "God...I wish he got to see us together. He would've been so happy."

Ben smiles, "Trust me. He sees."

Devi nods, resting her head on Ben's shoulder, "Yeah...you're right. He sees."

Ben and Devi fall asleep in eachother's arms on the couch, waking up hours later to get ready for their visit to Miami.  
~  
Later on, after a surprisingly calm car ride to Malibu beach (Ben had gotten better at driving on the highway...and managing his road rage), they were finally pulling up at the familiar spot from four months ago.

The spot where they had shared their first kiss.

Devi smiles at the memory, "Hey...remember this spot?" she asks.

Ben nods, "I remember. You ambushed me with a kiss."

Devi scoffs, shoving his arm, "I did NOT. You did that at your birthday party...twice." she jabs.

Ben gives her a sheepish smile, "Okay, fair point. But in all seriousness...Of course I remember."

Ben goes to get out of the car, but Devi grabs his arm.

"Thank you again, Ben. For staying..." She breathes out, and Ben grins at her.

"There's no where I'd rather be." He says, walking around the car to open Devi's door.

He interlocks their hands, allowing Devi to guide him down the familiar rocky path to the beach.

"So you never told me...how did you get down to the beach in time that day?" Ben asks, swinging their hands between them.

Devi laughs, "Well you wouldn't believe it but...I almost didn't. I had a nervous breakdown at the top of this cliff, screaming for my mom and Kamala. And then...John McEnroe showed up."

Ben raises an eyebrow, "John McEnroe...the tennis player?" he asks, voice disbelieving.

Devi nods, "Yeah. It felt like some sort of sign from my dad. He was my dad's favorite player of all time."

Ben smiles, "Wow...that's incredible, and random. So...how did John McEnroe help?"

"He yelled loud enough for them to hear, so that I could run down this path to meet them." She explains.

Ben's eyes widen, "You RAN down this thing? Jesus...I'm already getting winded and we haven't even gotten close to the beach yet."

Devi smirks, "That's because I'm more fit than you."

"Yeah right, David. I'm jacked." He snaps, smiling.

"Really? Prove it...race you there!" Devi yells out, taking off in a sprint. Ben scoffs, chasing after her.

"Not fair...you got a head start!" Ben yells from behind her, already gasping for air.

Devi laughs, jumping up and down and fist pumping the air when she gets to the beach first. Ben catches up seconds later, bending over gasping for air.

"Okay...you win...but its only because...you've done this before." He says in between breaths.

Devi shrugs, "If that's what helps you sleep at night."

They both take off their shoes, Devi grabbing Ben's hand and leading him to the water.

She smiles, "Hey dad. I'm here to visit you, and I brought a special guest."

"I think you remember Ben, dad. He's my boyfriend now...I just know you would approve." She continues as she looks out at the seemingly infinite ocean, peaceful waves crashing onto the shore.

She tightens her hold on Ben's hand, "I...I miss you, dad...everyday." she chokes out.

Ben walks over to wrap an arm around her waist, and Devi wraps her arms around him...resting her head on his chest.

"I just want you to know that...I'm okay. I'm more than okay, and it's because of Ben." She says.

Ben grins at her, "I'll take care of her, Mr. Vishwakumar. I promise...she means everything to me."

They both stand in silence, listening to the peaceful sound of the water.

"Okay. So there's one more thing we have to do." She explains, jogging over to her bag and pulling out a speaker.

She walks back over to Ben, who's giving her a slightly confused look. She smiles, connecting the bluetooth to her phone and selecting the song.

"Is that...Beautiful Day by U2?" He asks. 

Devi nods, setting down the speaker in the sand and grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the water.

"Yeah. It was my dad's favorite song. We played it when we scattered his ashes, and now we play it to remember him." Devi grins.

"That's great. But...why are we going into the ocean in our clothes?" He laughs, and Devi rolls her eyes, ignoring the way their clothes are soaked through from the waves crashing over them.

"Because I want to cherish this moment, with you. If it weren't for you just a few months ago, I would have made the biggest mistake of my life." She breathes out, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"God...I love you." Devi confesses, and Ben smiles.

"I love you too." He replies instantly, hoisting Devi up so her legs are wrapped securely around his waist. He leans in to press his lips against hers.

They continue kissing until a big wave comes behind them...knocking them both underwater. When they both resurface, they laugh.

"That one...was definitely my dad." Devi laughs, pushing the hair out of her face.

"We should probably get out of the water then before he sends a Tsunami." Ben suggests.

Devi shakes her head, running towards him and tackling him, pressing their lips together again.

They spend the next few hours at the beach, enjoying eachother's company. Devi doesn't say it in many words, but she is beyond grateful for Ben taking her to Miami again.

It was as if one chapter between them closed, and a whole brand new one began. And she couldn't wait to see what it held in store for them.


End file.
